Malware, Hacks and Leaks: The Top 10 Security Stories of 2010

by Brian Prince

The last 12 months have offered a cornucopia of cyber-security stories. During 2010, there was no lack of data breaches, hacks and malware attacks. There were tales of international cyber-espionage and warfare in such far-flung places as China and Iraq, U.S secrets spilling onto the Internet thanks to the controversial site WikiLeakswhich found itself under attack as it prepared to release thousands of documentsand leaked e-mails. But it wasn't just the bad guys who were busy. As usual, law enforcement and security researchers were active as well, and the year saw botnet takedowns and arrests as attackers and the people who hunt them crisscrossed the globe. Beyond that were acquisitions, some of whichlike Intel's $7.68 billion purchase of McAfeereverberated throughout the security industry. And it didn't stop there. Security issues related to topics such as cloud computing generated high levels of interest as well. In addition, both Facebook and Googlecollectors of vast amounts of customer datawere the target of criticism revolving around privacy issues. So without further ado and in no particular order, here's a look back at the top security stories of the 2010, with the hope that there will be no major attacks between now and Jan. 1.